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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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Gwangju FC defeated its opponent Ulsan to advance to the semifinals of the Korea Cup.
Gwangju won 1-0 with Cho Sung-kwon's first goal in the 30th minute of the second half in the quarterfinals of the '2025 Hana Bank Korea Cup' against Ulsan at 7 p.m. on the 2nd at Gwangju World Cup Stadium. Gwangju, which had a numerical advantage with the exit of veteran Ulsan defender Kim Young-kwon in the 43rd minute of the first half, won a new victory by one goal after unilaterally pushing in the second half. As a result, Gwangju, which failed to advance to the finals after losing to Ulsan in the semifinals of the Korea Cup last year, succeeded in revenge in a year and moved one step closer to winning the first championship in the club's history. Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo said before the game, `This is my fourth year in Gwangju, and I am more greedy to win the Korea Cup than ever. So I've prepared a little bit." Ulsan, which returned home after nearly a month after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, failed to overcome condition problems and exit variables and dropped out of the quarterfinals.
Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo put in all of his best efforts. Jung Ji-hoon Asani and Gabriel made up the offensive. Gabriel, whose transfer to Gangwon failed, was included in the list for the first time in a long time. Hayes and Ju Se-jong Choi Kyung-rok made up the midfield, while Min Sang-ki and Kim Han-gil, who are in charge of the four-back, were in charge of the lineup. Kim Kyung-min shook off the injury and defended the goal. Coach Kim, who checked the entry, expressed his honest feelings, saying, `I wonder what it would have been like if a different goalkeeper came out just today.'
Ulsan coach Kim Pan-gon surprisingly pulled out the Rubik's hand striker card. Based on hints obtained during the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, Rubik's partner, who is full of energy and has excellent breakthrough ability, was used as Eric's partner. In the 3-5-2 formation, Boyanich and Ko Seung-beom set up the midfield, and Kang Sang-woo and Cho Hyun-taek played both wing backs. The three-back was composed of signatory Trojac and Kim Young-kwon. Cho Hyun-woo wore goalkeeper gloves.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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Ulsan, which expected coach Lee to be tired, aggressively pushed Gwangju from the beginning of the game. In the 11th minute, Bojanic's shot was slightly off the post. Lee Jin-hyun's volley in the 22nd minute and Eric's mid-range shot in the 25th minute were ineffective. In the 32nd minute, Ko Seung-beom's shot at the corner of the goal, which blocked the ball from the opponent's side, slightly missed the post. Rubixson's shot from inside the box in the 35th minute was blocked by Byun Jun-su's tackle. Gwangju, which occasionally peeked at opportunities with counterattacks, faced a large boom in the 42nd minute of the first half. Ulsan veteran defender Kim Young-kwon, who was warned once earlier, was sent off after receiving an additional warning with a tackle in the process of blocking Asani's breakthrough.
Gwangju was driven with a numerical advantage. In the 44th minute of the first half, Gabriel's cross into the gate missed Hayes' foot and went off the post. In the first minute of extra time, Asani's left footed shot from the front of the arc hit the crossbar. The first half ended without a goal.
Coach Kim thickened the defense by excluding wingback Kang Sang-woo at half-time and putting center back Lee Jae-ik in. First of all, the goal was to strengthen the defense and not lose points. In the first minute of the second half, Jung Ji-hoon's shot went off the post. Gwangju, which failed to open Ulsan's goal protected by Jomce Cho Hyun-woo, made a major replacement in the 16th minute of the second half. Kim Han-gil, Ju Se-jong, Jeong Ji-hoon, was removed at the same time, and Shin Chang-moo, Shim Sang-min, and Park In-hyuk were put in to pull the reins on the attack. Park In-hyuk's left-footed shot, handed over Shim Sang-min's cutback in the 22nd minute of the second half, went wide off the post in vain. In the 25th minute of the second half, Ulsan tried to make changes to the offense by putting in Huh Yul behind Eric. Gwangju strengthened its midfield by putting Lee Kang-hyun instead of Gabriel in the 26th minute of the second half.
In the 30th minute of the second half, Gwangju scored the first goal that they had been waiting for. A corner kick floated by Shin Chang-moo hit Cho Sung-kwon's head and headed for the goal. The ball touched Cho Hyun-woo's fingertips and reached the net. In the 32nd minute of the second half, Hayes' shot went off to the right side of the net in a counterattack. Ulsan took a golden opportunity in the 43rd minute of the second half. Goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min's ball in front of the goal hit Ko Seung-beom's body, which boldly ran in front of the goal, and rolled to the empty goal. However, Kim Kyung-min ran quickly and caught the ball before the goal line crossed, avoiding the crisis of losing points. The game ended with Gwangju's 1-0 victory.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
